Ceramic Petrography and Exchange Networks in the Middle Niger Basin During the Iron Age

The reconstruction of ceramic exchange networks using petrographic analysis of thin-sections has proven highly productive in European and Near Eastern archaeological contexts but remains an underdeveloped analytical approach in Nigerian Iron Age studies despite its potential to illuminate inter-site interaction and specialist production. This study applies ceramic petrography to a comparative assemblage of Iron Age ceramics drawn from six sites distributed across the Middle Niger Basin in Niger State, using transmitted light polarizing microscopy to characterize temper mineralogy, clay matrix composition, and manufacturing technology. A total of one hundred and eighty thin-sections were examined from vessels selected to represent the full typological range at each site. Petrographic grouping identifies eight distinct fabric types, of which four correspond to geologically distinctive raw material signatures traceable to specific outcrop localities within and adjacent to the study area. The spatial distribution of these fabric groups indicates that two ceramic types were transported distances of over one hundred kilometres, providing evidence for either direct long-distance movement of pots or the systematic use of shared raw material sources by potters from multiple communities. The study integrates petrographic results with published compositional data from adjacent regions to propose a model of Middle Niger ceramic exchange organized around three major production nodes with distributed distribution networks. This model has implications for understanding the economic integration of communities across the Middle Niger floodplain zone during the first millennium CE. Keywords: ceramic petrography, exchange networks, Middle Niger Basin, Iron Age, Niger State.